“Ajman Pindi Express” Champion of “Red Bull Quicket” Competition Brings Thrills to Cricket Lovers
Dubai, October 15th, 2011
“Ajman Pindi Express” team members were quick with their bat and willow to emerge as winners of the “Red Bull Quicket” held last Friday, October 14th, at Mega Mall Sharjah.
After a series of exciting qualifying rounds at different venues in the UAE, the Red Bull’s new version of cricket saw a nail-biting finish in the parking lot of the mall.
Opting to bat first, Warriors players Yasir and Saquib lost two wickets but still managed to post 11 runs in their two overs.
In reply, Ajman batsmen Amer Tauqueer Kayni and Sajid Khalil made a good start achieving six runs in the first over but lost a wicket in the second over which ensured the match went down the wire to the last ball. Needing one run to win from the final ball, Sajid was beaten with the scores level.
In the Super Over, one player from each team was allowed to bowl three balls at the stumps and Warrior’s Yasir and Ajman’s Sajid both missed to hit the stumps even once.
Down the years the gentleman's game has taken various forms and Red Bull's Quicket is likely to emerge as one of the best ways to play street cricket. Popular among Asians, specially Bombay, where street gully is played almost throughout the year come rain or sun, Red Bull's Quicket has brought in a new desire and enthusiasm among cricketers.
In Quicket, the batting team is awarded two extra runs for a wide and an extra ball with balls above the waist being declared as no-balls. For every wicket that falls, the batting team will be deducted three runs. A batsman failing to score in two consecutive balls will lose three runs. A batsman can be out when he is bowled, caught stumped or run out.
With qualifiers having taken place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Sharjah, the top 16 teams finally took to the parking lot to culminate the exciting contest at Mega Mall, Sharjah.
The qualifiers attracted not only many teams but drew lots of fans who were thrilled to watch the latest form of cricket.
The field for Quicket was split into Four Zones with each zone fetching the batsmen different number of runs. Zone A fetched four or one runs, B five or three and C six or one. Bonus runs were scored when the ball hit the net of various mini goals across the zone.
One of the cricketers, who was privileged to play in Quicket, said it was exciting to play this format, which is fast. "One needs to play with good strokes, bowl accurately and be able to focus on every ball," said Khalil who played in the finals.
"This form of street cricket is likely to become popular with the fans, who do not stand a chance to play big-time cricket," he said. "Players have dreams of emulating Sachin Tendulkar's batting or Mahendra Singh Dhoni's stunts behind the wickets. Quicket will at least help them fulfill a part of their dreams," quipped Khalil.
‘I wish I were better at cricket to join in the game, so much the excitement was big’, said Alberto Chahoud, Regional Communications Manager for Red Bull. ‘It was remarkable to see the various teams engage wholeheartedly in a sport that has become part of their lifestyle’
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